[ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪ [ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula soothes your throat on contact and the active ingredient relieves your cough. robitussin®. don't suffer the coughequences™. hamburger helper can help you back. and with box tops for education on every box, it helps you help your school. so you're doing good, just by making dinner. hamburger helper. available at walmart. >> steve: tomorrow on our big show, general stanley mccrystal is out. he tells his side of the story on why he quit. you'll see it here on the "fox & friends" show. >> brian: i just realized i got to finish the book. it's somewhere on the couch.

>> gretchen: michelle malkin. have a fantastic day. >> brian: stay within yourself. here we go. want to start with a fox news alert. there is a new plea for help from the family of a former fbi agent van fishing in iran five years ago. robert levinson disin 2007. family is releasing disturbing new pictures sent from whomever is holding him, we believe. there is a "america's newsroom." i'm bill hemmer. good morning, martha. martha: good to see you. i'm martha maccallum. intelligence officials believe iran is holding him as a bargaining chip essentially, something tehran vehemently denies at this point. the new pictures show a haggard levinson than in earlier pictures. this sign says help me, we must be excruciating for his wife christine.

she released the pictures to urge the government to do more and not give up hope. >> diplomatically it takes a long time for each diplomatic request to go through all the channels. i know over the course of all these years that the government and the state department have tried to do that but have been unsuccessful. i feel there needs to be more attention to the case and that's why i'm putting the pictures out and trying to get everyone to, to be reminded that bob is still missing. bill: so will it help? david lee miller live in our new york city newsroom. what are u.s. officials saying about his disappearance, david lee? >> reporter: bill, u.s. authorities now believe iran is behind levinson's abduction. they say that based on newly-made public photos and previously-released video of levinson mailed to his family. levinson's family has a total of six photos from two years ago. they kept until private

until now. levinson is holding up a sign with a message, the series reads, i'm here in guantanamo. do you know where that is. why you can not help me. this is the result of 30 years serving for usa. fourth year, you count or you don't want. u.s. officials say the expertise covering the tracks of sender looks like work of professionals such as iran's intelligence and security service. his wife is calling on washington to ratchet the pressure on iran as his family faces six years without him. >> this is very frustrating. our oldest daughter is getting married in a month and we don't have any reason why bob is being held and we have no information about how to get him home and we know that iran can do that. >> reporter: levinson says her husband disappearance hasn't received attention he deserves. she likens it to the three hikers arrested in iran all

of whom have been set free. bill: that is true, david. what is iran saying about this? >> reporter: iran denies knowing anything about levinson's disappearance. in one instance they met with officials to locate levinson. they search ad mountainous border region from pakistan, afghanistan and officials say iran made up the story to learn about the inner-workings of u.s. counterintelligence. the but the bottom line, bill, that the united states authorities have now told the ap wire service they believe iran is behind this abduction. now what can washington do to try and encourage iran? bill: big question. they have a daughter who is getting married in a month. we'll talk to the mother christine. that is the wife of robert, what she believes is the whereabouts of her husband. she still thinks he is in iran. the government needs to do more to bring him home. christine levinson, our guest live next hour here in "america's newsroom." we'll have that for you live.

martha: tough for her. she is coming up at the top of the next hour. meantime we're learning some new details about possible white house plans for troop withdrawals from afghanistan ahead of next year's drawdown. there is a new report out that has an administration official floating the idea of pulling out all of the troops. the so-called zero option. molly henneberg is with us in washington. so, molly, how likely is this zero troops in afghanistan scenario? >> reporter: hi, martha. all the obama administration will say is it is an option, a possibility, something they're looking at but clearly they're signaling to afghan president hamid karzai that the days of tens of thousands of u.s. troops in afghanistan, we have 66,000 there now, are coming to an end. >> the u.s. does not have, again, an inherent objective of x number of troops in afghanistan. we have an objective of making sure there is no safe haven for al qaeda within afghanistan and making sure

that the afghan government has a security force that is sufficient again to insure the stability of the afghan government and the denial of that safe haven. >> reporter: sources tell fox that the white house is looking at troop levels below 10,000 by the end of 2014. just a year ago there was talk it would be more in the 10,000 to 30,000 troop range but that apparently has changed significantly. presidents obama and karzai will meet on friday to discuss this and other issues including the thorny issue for legal immunity for any u.s. troops that do remain behind. karzai is resisting that idea. president obama is pushing for it. martha? martha: raises so many questions, molly about the treasure that has already been lost in afghanistan, what gains have been made there, and how strong al qaeda is. i mean all of these, right, are some of the risks of what would happen perhaps if we had no u.s. troops on the ground there? >> certainly there is always the risk al qaeda gets to move back in there with

impunity. one former commander of u.s. troops in afghanistan, retired lt. general david barnow wrote on foreign policy.com quote, president barack obama will have to weigh the substantial risks inherent in a zero option for afghanistan. absent the stablizing influence of some numbers of u.s. troops, afghanistan could slip back into chaos, experiencing a new version of the devastating civil war that rents the country in the 1990s. general barno says the zero troop option may not quote, be the best choice for america's long interest in the region but remains on the table of the obama administration. martha: we'll have a panel on this coming up in a little while. molly, thank you very much. bill: six minutes past the hour now. the national cathedral in washington, d.c. announcing today it will soon allow same-sex marriage ceremonies. the cathedral is more than

100 years old. hosts presidential inaugural services and funerals for heads of state along with memorial services during times of national tragedy. same-sex marriage is legal in the nation's capitol. church officials say only couples affiliated with the con a mitigation are eligible and premarriage counseling is required. america's problem with debt is shows no signs of going away. contract bo says the government is on pace to rack up another deficit topping a trillion dollars for the fifth straight year. stuart varney, anchor of "varney & company", fox business network. good morning to you. first quarter, deficit, 293 billion. >> yeah. bill: times four and we're north of a trillion dollars again. >> yes. now look this is from a reliable source. this is the congressional budget office. this is the government's own bean counters and they are really delivering some bad us into. the point is this year, even though we just had a tax increase affecting everybody,

this year, the actual, the deficit will only go down $4 billion. that is absolutely peanuts. that is interest for one day on the national debt. that's because we've raised taxes but we've also raised spending. we're going to spend more on unemployment benefits this year and not counted into the equation yet, is the extra that we're very likely to spend on sandy storm relief. so to put it bluntly, bill, we're on track for a trillion dollar deficit for the fifth straight year. we will hit 17 trillion total national debt sometime this fall. bill: just keeps on going. all the trillion dollar deficits wracked up by the current administration. >> that is total debt. that is deficit after deficit, after deficit. you add it all up, total debt, 17 trillion by this fall. another trillion dollar deficit this financial year. bill: all the push and pull we watch in november and december before the fiscal cliff deal -- >> neutral. bill: at the 11th hour -- >> neutral.

bill: reduces deficit by $4 billion? >> that is it. that is interest we pay on national debt one day and six hours. bill: do the percentage of 4 billion on 293 billion for one quarter. it is niecely. >> that is because we raised taxes, theoretically get more revenue on that but we raise spending. we'll extend unemployment benefits for another year. and not counted in the andy storm damage. that would be another 51 billion, if that bill passes. bill: we're going to find what democrats are willing to give when it comes to spending. >> that is the point. the cliff approaches. so who cuts spending. who raises taxes. what are we going to do? bill: golden question. 9:20 fbn. check him out. martha, what is next. martha: we'll talk about this as well. president obama made a promise we would find the killers of four americans in benghazi at our consulate and that justice would be done. >> and make no mistake. we will work with the libyan

government to bring to justice the killers who an attacked our people. martha: what is happening with all that? a major setback now. will the americans who died there and their families ever no the truth? bill: also this year's flu season is so bad, there's a hospital in a major american city literally turning ambulances and patients away. where the outbreak appears to be hitting epidemic proportions. no beds. martha: taking "guitar hero" to a whole new level. we'll introduce you to the robot that rocks. bill: check him out. ♪ . [ male announcer ] with over 50 delicious choices of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant.

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bill: there are new questions whether or not there will ever be justice for the four americans killed in the benghazi terror attack.

despite the president vowing action one of the only suspects in custody has been let free for lack of evidence. that's a setback now. it comes as we're getting word that secretary of state hillary clinton will testify about benghazi a little later this month but what about today? republican senator johnny isakson out of georgia. senator, good morning to you and thank you for your time here. >> good morning, bill. bill: can we now categorize this investigation as a cold case? >> well, certainly with the release of ali harz sigh, the lassus speck in custody -- harzi. the fact we didn't have investigators on the ground for two weeks until we acknowledged it was a terrorist attack, not a spontaneous attack. information like that goes cold pretty fast. there are questions secretary of state clinton must ask, must answer and john brennan too. why the information requesting for security

never made it to the 7th floor of the state department and why it appears to be as the accountability review board investigation told us a culture of pushback from the state department on questions for more security. bill: you say that is the golden question for secretary clinton what she testifies what we believe about 2 1/2 weeks time? >> absolutely. they say it was a spontaneous attack for two weeks. susan rice went on tv blaming it on a movie trailer. only two weeks later they finally acknowledged it was organized attack. during that two weeks most of the evidence on the ground became polluted or some way tarnished. we have to reconstruct the entire situation. we need to find out who knew what when and why the culture of pushback. bill: where is that trail of evidence do you believe? how will you determine whether or not the 7th floor of the state department which is where secretary clinton works, was aware of that question and knew that answer? >> well, the secretary's going to testify and i'm glad her health is better.

i'm glad her concussion's better and we're glad she is coming back but we need to know the answer to the question, bill. why the information didn't make it and if it did make it why there wasn't response for more security in benghazi for chris stevens. bill: listen to this in the hours after the attack at the white house. >> today we mourn four more americans who represent the very best of the united states of america. we will not waiver in our commitment to see that justices done for this terrible act and make no mistake, justice will be done. bill: the end of that statement, how do you interpret that now four months later? >> well it sounded like a commitment then and still sound like a commitment but the actions of the administration don't follow the intent of that commitment. we have got to hold their feet to the fire. we've got to get answers for the family of chris stevens and for those diplomats around the world, bill, that represent the united states of america in very dangerous places it does not send a good message to have one of your diplomats killed.

four months after they're killed there are no anticipates. there is even a question whether there is pushback in the state department bringing security that is necessary. bill: can you determine if there is an fbi team on the ground in tripoli, 500 miles away from benghazi? it still appears that's a hot zone to go into and therefore investigators will not. that has to be huge impediment to figure out answers? >> benghazi is a very dangerous place but we have investigators in a lot of dangerous places around the world and nothing is more pressing than getting answers to why chris stevens died and why we didn't have intelligence necessary to be able to defend the embassy or the commission in benghazi when the attack took place. bill: just one more point on that. do you believe the current libyan government is willing and able and ready to assist in this? >> i think there's a willingness but the ability to do it in benghazi is very, very, benghazi, is a consortium, islamic radicals, extremist groups, terrorists, if you will. it is 500 miles away from

the seat of government in tripoli. it is a very, very dangerous place and even the government of libya has difficulty operating in benghazi. bill: indeed they do. the history there is not good too, with the islamic extremists festering there for years. one final question here. you mentioned hillary clinton several times and her testimony how critical that is to you to figure out answers. will you bring family members of the victims to do the same, to get their story? >> that's going to be determined by the chairman of the committee as the investigation goes on but i think secretary of state hillary clinton's testimony will be the trigger for what happens next. if we get some answers, whatever those answers might be, it may be necessary to bring the families forward. bill: senator, thank you. johnny isakson, the republican out of georgia. we have some breaking news, senator. thank you for your time now. martha: bill, we are just getting wind of this. what you're looking at is happening right now in downtown manhattan and you're seeing some of the injured being carried away. what we're learning there was a hard landing for a new york city ferry, that had an

accident in lower manhattan as i said, around 8:40 this morning. i should mention that basically these ferries go back and forth between new jersey, staten island, all the lower parts of manhattan, ferrying people to work. clearly this happened during that very busy commuter time in the morning at 8:40 this morning. what you're searing a rescue effort that is underway. 15, one report says there are 15 people who are injured very early in this process to know exactly the extent of those injuries. but you can see on the left-hand side of your screen what may, yeah, i mean we have every reason to believe that is the ferry that hit. you can see it parked above where we're looking right now. but they are carrying off several people on stretchers and several of them seem to be lined up along the side as well. so this is a developing situation. there's a live shot. there is the chopper shot over lower manhattan this morning as they continue to carry people off.

as i said, the most recent number that we is 15 people injured. generally these ferries are packed on the way across the river, the hudson river in lower manhattan. the whole wall street area is serviced in large part by these ferries that commute all the way down to you know, the red hook area, middle of new jersey, all the way up to the northern part of new jersey is generally who are on these ferries as they come across. so we'll continue to get more information on this ferry crash in lower manhattan as we get that, we will continue to bring it to you but those are the live pictures, bill, as we take a look this morning what is going on down there. we'll keep you posted on that. all right, in the meantime, guess who wants to buy a bankrupt green energy company that got $250 million in taxpayer cash? new questions on whether this deal, whether it might contain some information, if we sell this company, that could be a real threat to national security. bill: also you just heard it from varney.

we're moving towards $16 trillion in debt and doing quite quickly. republicans promise to take an axe to government spending but a top conservative says there is a big wall standing in their way to do just that. >> he is not interested in spending cuts. he is not interested in reform. he wants to defend the entitlement state. he wants to defend obamacare. even add on to it. people really love snapshot from progressive, but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later,

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martha: we want to get you back to this breaking story in lower manhattan right now. you can see there are many injured people on stretchers they're containing to take off this sea streaker inry it is -- ferry it is called. it provides service from connor highlands, new jersey, to pier 1 1 in wall street and east 35th street.

a lot of people have been hurt here. they say it is a hard landing. when you see the aerial shot from the helicopter of this ferry, it appears to be side docked as you would expect it to be and not rammed into the forward side of the landing area. but nonetheless it's a beautiful day. bill: sure is. >> weather does not appear to be any issue here. you have to start to ask questions about whether or not there was any error on the part of the captain or whether, you know, there was some kind of distraction, who knows. bill: here's another one coming off on a stretcher. during the break we were watching several people being treated on gurneys. so the response has been pretty strong, but this is a path for those outside of new york that would take you by some of the more iconic landmarks in the entire country. statue of liberty, the new freedom tower in lower manhattan. you would come around the southeastern edge of the manhattan island and would see the brooklyn bridge off to your right. this is scenic and it is

taken quite often by commuters coming to lower manhattan to work every single day. not so much a tourist boat for people who work here. martha: a great way to get to work. we have the holland tunnel, lincoln tunnel, coming from new jersey. this is very direct rout people have been taking the past 15 years i would say. these ferries have become very popular. peter johnson, jr., will join us. he is very familiar with this particular line. a rough morning. 8:45 we're told when this happened right in the middle of the heat of rush hour in the morning. a warm, beautiful day in new york city. about 50 degrees today, expected. so weather is not the issue here. bill: new york fire department saying 17 people at last count were injured. no word yet on the cause but perhaps you wonder something mechanical could have gone wrong on board this boat if it came up with a hard

landing. it was able to impede that progress toward the landing dock. all the injured being treated on the scene. no word on the severity of injuries and whether or not they will be transported from here to a local hospital. martha: that may be somewhat encouraging they're being treated on the scene right now. if they're not being rushed to hospitals it may tell us something about the severity of their injuries. we'll find out more about it. so far our new york bureau here called the company. they have no comment as of right now, seastrk as they are no doubt trying to figure out what happened before they start to say anything. you see, there again another person being carried of a ferry --, a stretcher rather with injuries this morning in this accident. bill: many companies do take part in the commuting every day whether it's tourists or local folks who live here. peter johnson, jr., is one of them. peter, you ride the seastreak, do you. >> i ride it many days throughout the year. it is popular fast ferry

from monmouth county, new jersey, takes 45 minutes to come from highlands new jersey. interesting they resumed the ferry service today. it was interrupted by superstorm sandy. the outfit was kind of destroyed down there. it has been rebuilt. it transports between four or 500 passengers on two decks. and very often, it will make kind of a hardish landing based on the tide there in lower manhattan. it is right across from my office. and so, it operates all day, and it's a very popular ferry, especially with traders, bond people, stock people, back office people in lower manhattan and very often as the boat is docking, many of the passengers are in fact standing when it comes in. and so, there's a little bit after jar sometimes and it moves in like any other ferry does but there is always a capacity for very,

very, hard hit. now these passengers who are injured will most likely be brought to new york downtown hospital which is just step as way from downtown new york city hall where they will be treated. the more seriously injured patients will be brought to their sister hospital, new york presbyterian and or bellevue hospital. but you see that the propensity in an accident like this, and i have handled boat injuries and boat cases there are a tremendous amount of ankle, knee, back, and neck injuries. so very often they will immobilize and stablize the patients to insure that there's no serious or potentially fatal spinal injuries that could compromise them. martha: that is interesting, peter. happened over an hour ago, 8:45 we're told. just raises the question why the people are still lined up on these stretchers on that, on that flat area just

away from the boat and why they wouldn't be taken directly to local hospitals to be checked out? >> they will be brought but i think they're doing a lot of on scene triage. it leads me to believe the injuries are not life-threatening but are potentially serious. you've had a tremendous, tremendous response. i spoke to a police officer about 30 seconds ago who said there's a big, big response especially because of the location. it's also interesting to note that a lot of the buildings in that financial district area are still out because of superstorm sandy. massive skyscrapers holding financial services buildings which are still out of operation. just to the north of that pier 11 is a helicopter landing facility where president obama often lands. and it also has been the site of other helicopter accidents as well. that is one of the busiests parts of the new york harbor,

not only --. bill: did you say that service just resumed today? >> just resumed today. martha: there you can see the gash on the side of it, you guys, just to jump in. we're getting a first look at the gash in the side of that ferry. pretty substantial. bill: a storm hit end of october, beginning of november. >> yes. bill: this has been out for 2 1/2 months and day one of service is today. >> day one. and appears to be a bad luck day. this is a ferry that moves, probably 35, 30 -- 36 knots and moves through the sandy hook harbor into new york harbor underneath the verrazano bridge. it is a very popular ferry. we'll look to see how serious those injuries are. but it is a scary looking hole. the staten island ferry terminal is just another thousand feet beyond that. bill: we are reaching out to the new york fire department too. we're told it is literally all hands on deck for them in lower manhattan.

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out to the fire department in new york and joins us live now in our newsroom. anna, good morning. what did you find out? >> reporter: bill, we've been working the phone lines. we spoke with fdny who does handle the information coming from ems. approximately 17 people are hurt as mentioned. this hard landing we're told happened about 8:45 so just about 45, 50 minutes ago. there is no word yet on what could have caused this. we are told though that all these injured people you see here on the backboards, that they are being treated right there at the scene. we're told no one has been transported yet. no word on the severity of any of these injuries either. we can tell you also that we have reached out to the company of the ferry. no word from them. they say they need a couple of hours to, quote, get their ducks in a row. also want to mention, we don't have confirmation of this but a quick look at the seastreak website show as ferry from connor landing,

new jersey, scheduled to arrive at 8 clin 45. no confirmation whether that was ferry. bill, back to you. bill: anna kooiman working that story? in the newsroom. martha: tons of ambulances down there. there is a look of an aerial shot of the seastreak ferry on the upper right-hand corner of the ferry where it hit. not clear whether it hit into that pylon you see next to it or what sliced it but appears to be sliced through on the front right-hand corner. peter johnson, jr., is with us because he rides this ferry quite often and is describing where it is and what the location is and what the ride is like, all of that, peter. >> you know, martha, bill, it is interesting, you look at that strike there on the right side of the seastreak ferry which is a gladding hearn boat built somewhere in the mid 2,000s. it goes up to 38, 40 knots

an hour. it doesn't appear to be a strike on the piling just looking at it now. there are some twitter reports that are saying that the boat perhaps struck a buoy in the harbor. we don't know whether in fact it is a hard landing or the strike of a buoy in the actual harbor. we do know the fdny and nypd both have harbor units and they're both very experienced in responding to, toward incidents and, in fact tragedis. you remember the staten island ferry tragedy back in the early 2,000s. 10 or 11 people died as a result of that. there were many more serious injuries. in fact litigation continued on that event up until recently. but thank god a lucky, lucky event, if it happened at the pier itself because the water is, probably in the 50s at this point. martha: good point. it doesn't appear to struck

whatever it was that caused that gash in that position. lots of investigating to continue. we'll keep an eye on it. injuries said to be about 17 people right now. we'll get more information for you as it comes in. peter johnson, jr., thanks. bill: we've seen many people taken away on some stretchers and some gurneys down there what is not clear whether anyone went in the water. with a hard landing with a full commuter boat and first day it returns to service after it was put out of service 2 1/2 months ago, something to watch. we're on it here from "america's newsroom.". break away from this in a moment. obama health care showdown is on the way. retailer ready to face millions of dollars of health fines a day. what it could mean for your health care. also it is this. >> time for real heavy metal, folks. robots that rock. wait until you see these guys. look at the boots. we'll be right back.

bill: there is a big showdown happening over obamacare. hobby lobby facing fines of up to the $1.3 million every day for its refusal to provide birth control coverage to its employees under the new health care law mandate. hobby lobby, by the way is a family-owned business. it is one of america's largest arts and crafts retailers showing no signs of backing down. jay sekulow worked on these cases. american center of law and justice. welcome back, jay on "america's newsroom". >> hey, bill. bill: you worked on other cases not directly with hobby lobby. >> right. bill: i have read you obtained three injunctions to stop enforcement of the mandate? what does that mean. >> we obtained two too the court of appeals, one from

the 7th circuit and one from the 8th circuit and one from a district court. three cases we brought were able to obtain injunctions. hobby lobby, the judges that heard that case were not persuaded by their opinion but most courts in fact have, issued injunctions and this puts hobby lobby in an unusual situation. because as you said they're facing 1.3 million dollars a day in fines which is out rage just. the greeps are committed to the cause and committed to seeing it through. the right thing government abate he can consider shun of fins while cases are being litigated. who be by lobby's case is not over. they have not had a full hearing before the 10th circuit court of appeals. everybody should hold the fire and not collect any fines. bill: let me sew you down a little bit. here is what an attorney or attorneys for the company says. the company will continue to provide health insurance to

all qualified employees. to remain true to their faith it is not their intention as a company to pay for abortion-inducing drugs. >> right. bill: you believe hobby lobby should prevail in the end, based on what? >> in the end i think we win the day. lobby wins their cases. we won ours. i think the fines should not be assessed against them or at least not collected against them while this is pending. this is draconian, $1. million a day. you have to give hobby lobby a lot of credit and the greens a lot of credit for sticking to their principles and protecting their employees by providing insurance. other employees would say, we'll scrap the insurance plan and forget it. they're not willing to do that. they will fight the good fight and ultimately it goes to the supreme court. bill: tell me why you believe legally they win this? >> well, for the same reason, bill, we've won three cases that we brought so far. that is th free exercise of religion, applies to these companies that have principles that the owners of these companies have religious convictions and to force or

compel someone to violate their conscience is exactly what the free exercise clause of the constitution of the united states was designed to prevent. and this is turned that upside down. i think the obama administration just needs to go back and rewrite their exemptions here. and that would solve this problem. this could be handled administratively. so far the obama administration, president obama's administration has no desire to do that. that's why we're in court. bill: i understand you're looking for delay on this, but meantime us does the company pay the fine? >> they don't have to until the fine is assessed. i used to work with treasury. the question will be when will the actual fine be assessed against the company. that's where i think the department of justice and the department of labor should hold back and wait until the cases are adjudicated. bill: which reached -- >> most of the cases go in our favor, i understand the point you're making on that. we'll see whether or not this goes the same route. we reached out to the company. we hope to get the ceo on here real soon. jay, thank you for your

time. >> thanks, bill. martha: well to colorado now. there are chaling details about the movie theater massacre that james holmes played hand puppets while the police worked on that scene. bizarre details we're now learning, a man wins the lottery but dies before he collects the check and authorities are now investigating whether or not that death is a possible murder in a case that has stunned his family and his friends. >> regular customer i would say, very friendly. good sense of humor. working type of guy. always asks, you know, when he comes in, always greets us, was a appreciatetive person. a french fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle.

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bill: there is breaking news here in new york city.

take a look at this commuter boat that slammed apparently into a dock coming into a hard landing about an hour and six minutes ago. at least 17 injured thus far, multiple fire crews responding here. we've seen several people on gurneys and in stretchers being led away from that commuter boat. we're watching that story. more for you on that just about nine minutes away. top of the hour with new information on what's happening there. martha: all right. let's go back to d.c. for a moment where republicans are now pushing for spending cuts, right? here we go again, in the next major debt battle which has to do with the debt ceiling, the next chapter of this whole thing. they gave up on the tax hikes in the fiscal cliff deal. democrats have promised to deal with cuts during the next fight and extending the nation's credit card limit but critics say the potential nomination of the white house chief of staff jack lew to treasury secretary shows president obama has no intention following through on cuts. here is charles krauthamer on this last night. >> he is not interested in

spending cuts. he is not interested in reform. he wants to defend the entitlement state. he wants to defend obamacare. even add on to it. he calls it investments. of course normal people would call it spending. and lew is the guy you want if you want to hold the fort what i call reactionary liberalism. you have the great achievements of the last century in building an entitlement state. he is the guy who would defend the for the. martha: great achievement in building entitlement society. says charles krauthamer. we have marjorie clifton and braid blakeman. good to have you both of us with us. >> thank you. martha: here is the fight. and my question for you, brad, how specific, how should republicans handle this? how, you should they do a big p.r. campaign and say these are the specific things we want to cut, mr. the president and you give us good argument not to do it?

>> congress should do what congress is charged to do. hold hearings, pass bills and put pressure on coequal branches government, to perform. no back-room deals. we should holding many hearings in the house in relevant committees on the budget, on debt, on entitlements this has to be all-out offensive. and only should bring a bill to the house when we get majority of the majority to agree. no more floating bills to see whether the support is this. let's get the support now and put the pressure on the senate and the white house. martha: what do you think about that, marjorie? >> well, absolutely, according to the nonpartisan policy institute by february 15th we're actually going to hit that debt ceiling. we can't afford to wait until the nth hour and then some as we did with the fiscal cliff. now the question is where is the compromise going to happen? i think we should send congress on retreat to do bonfires singing because compromise will have to happen. it will have to happen with democrats.

it will have to happen with republican. >> marjorie, here is my question to you, we heard from nancy pelosi. she said that she thought entitlement cuts already happened in the health care program, in terms of medicare. she is done with that. should americans have any hope that democrats will do any real cutting and spending which we know from the polls people want? i mean, are we going to see anything specific and if so, what? >> we've seen 68% of the americans do want the cuts. the challenge is where do we cut and i think democrats can say, look we don't want to cut, we're not going to cut but they know they have to. again this is talking points coming from both sides. now the challenge is that republicans don't want to do cuts to defense. democrats don't want to do cuts to social security and medicaid but those are the three biggest programs and sinkholes for our spending. so we've got to figure out a, specifically what is going to happen and how are we going to do it and i think that is the big question at hand. martha: you know, brad, folks are calling on republicans to unleash

toomey, hensarling and ron johnson, three people who have been very outspoken about spending cuts. they're not afraid to really quantify what they want to cut. is this the kind of campaign you would like to see, get these guys out there and have them start getting specific programs, name them? what would you do? >> absolutely and that's why these people should be testifying before congress. light now, sunshine needs to be shown on this process not only in budgeting but in entitlements and the kind of debt which is generational. you know, we're adding another trillion dollars to the deficit. the president already blown through 6 trillion. we have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. and by the way the fiscal cliff doesn't even reach the kind of revenue we would need to solve the kind of spending we're doing. martha: i have to jump in. we have to leave it there. thanks so much, marjorie. i give you the first word next time. i promise. thank you, marjorie and brad. bill: not even a dent. an american vanishing in iran. his wife is leading the

charge to find him and bring him home. begging the u.s. government for help. in moments we'll talk to her live. >> this is very frustrating. our oldest daughter is getting married in a month and which don't have any reason why bob is being held and we have no information about you who to get him home. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. martha: a quick update oeupb the ferry accident this morning that has injured between 30 and 50 people according to the latest reports from ap there is a huge rescue effort on the scene this morning in lower manhatten. according to reports one person is said to be in critical condition. 30 to 50 people injured when the dock struck -- when the ferry struck the dock during rush-hour in lower manhatten this morning. everybody is on the scene here from the fire department to the police to many, many plansess as they try to work this scene. at least 30 to 50 injured.

we'll bring you the latest as it comes in. meanwhile in other big news this morning, vice president joe biden is meeting in about an hour with gun violence victims and safety organizations as the white house begins a hard push now for tighter gun control. has that's how we start a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." good morning, i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. the vice president's task force will meet with a number of groups this week, including the nra tomorrow and reps from the entertainment and video game industries on tri of this week and the vice president will give recommendations to the president at the end of the month and is said to be considering measures well beyond an assault weapons ban. martha: carl cameron joins us now live from washington. set the scene for us this morning. >> reporter: this is a clear attempt by the white house as they've stated to jump start new gun legislation after the shooting rampage that left 20 children dead at an elementary

school in connecticut last month. biden's gun violence tax force could make its recommendations, in fact as soon as next week. they are in a hurry and make no bones about it. there are a variety of things going on. today he'll talk with victims' groups and gun safety organizations. thursday biden's task force will meet with sports men and hunting groups as well as the nra who are against the ban of any weapons. biden has suggested and the president is interested in banning military style assault weapons and high ammunition clips. they could create a national database to track weapons and increase mental health efforts to spot and help people in trouble. he will meet with representatives of the entertainment and video game industry. it could come friday, they are talking about two to three days worth of meetings with announcement of some of the repldzs as soon athe recommendations but definitely

by the end of the month. martha: they are getting face time with joe biden this week. he will meet with the nra. gun rights advocates have been very clear that they are dug in on this issue, right. >> reporter: the nra has agreed to send a representative t who is going there to listen. there is a circling of the wagons around the second amendment. various groups are mobilizing politically to try to block anything that might infringe on the second amendment. new groups have just proclaimed january 19th gun appreciation today and they are now formally urging americans nationwide to show their support for gun ownership by turning out in mass at the gun stores, gun ranges and gun shows all over the country to build the defense of the second amendment. when congress gets back from their vacation right now there is a awful lot on the agenda. the ceiling r-r, the sequester, and unpopular legislation.

adding a gun debate to that could be a tough thing to do. martha: back to reality for them. thank you very much, carl. bill: this city council believes that more guns will equal less crime. spring city utah officials are recommending every head of the household have a firearm, saying that guns in the hands of properly trained citizens will defo deter any criminal. >> we was all raised especially with the livestock you always carry the weapon. >> to me it's going to be a huge deterrent in home invasion. bill: the proposed ordinance will be talked about at a city council meeting next month. a public hearing will be held three weeks after that. martha: while the f.b.i. does not track gun sales per se there's been a steady increase in background checks over the past few years spike tog ing to a record 2.7 million in december of 2012. 50% higher than the previous december which was a record month at that time. also in 2012 there were a record

19.5 million background checks, up 19% from 2011. thly been on the rise. bill: breaking news now. there are new calls for action, as a family begs for help, help in finding a retired f.b.i. agent who disappeared in iran more than five years ago. he was a private investigator looking into cigarette smuggling when he vanished on an island in iran in 2007. here he is before he vanished. and these new images have been made public by the family. the picture shows him in an orange skwrupl than suit like those worn by detainees at guantanamo bay. u.s. officials believe the image as well as others are a sign that the iranian government is behind his disappearance. christine levinson is leading the charge the wife of him. good morning to you and thank you for your time. >> good morning, thank you. bill: you received these images more than two years ago. clearly a reason why you're going public now, why?

>> well, at the time we didn't have any reason why we received these images. they are pictures, but there is no information about what to do with them, why we received them, or how we get bob home as a result of these pictures. and now we need the public to be aware that bob is still missing, and that we have no answer why he is not home with us. the -- i believe the iranian government is holding him, and everyone else who has been held by the iranian government has been returned to their families, and bob has not. bill: the email appeared to originate from pakistan as we piece the story together. but you believe, as you said, that he still in iran. here is what someone from the u.n. mission from iran said. even his family traveled to iran and were accommodated by the government. further investigation proved that levinson is not in iran as there is no single evidence that

he is there. you believe otherwise. in the email that went to you, it was only sent from one email address, one time, and then no further correspondence. how did they get your email address? >> bob had it on his person. he carried pom pilot at that time that had all of his personal information on it. >> your daughter gets married in a month, and i can sense that -- well you're frustrated frankly and you want to make this happen. do you believe haouf got even thyou've gotten the cooperation of the u.s. government that you expected. >> i believe the u.s. government has done everything they can. the hard part is there are no diplomatic relations with iran, and we have not been able to get any proof of, you know, firsthand proof that -- of where he is, and so it's very from us tat frustrating.

bill: indeed it must be. based on that answer i assume you're satisfied with the efforts that have been put forth. but the effort to make the images public would suggest a frustration that continues. i ask the question again, are you getting the help you need from washington? >> well, i believe that we need to make sure that iran knows that we know they have him, and that they need to release him. it is almost six years. bob is going to be 65 years old, and there is no reason for him to be held. bill: i heard you in another interview last night with greta van susteren. you suggested that the hair on his face was not real, which could help you put a timeline

together. could you explain that? >> i did not believe that the hair is not real. it is real, that is my husband, that is his hair, that is his beard, however, i believe that the photos are from before the video, because it looks like in the video he has lost a lot of hair. bill: i see. thank you for that clarification. and now try for this one, how do the iranians benefit from holding your husband? what do they get from this? >> i have no idea. what i know is that in april of 2007, through their state sanctioned media, press tv, they published an article that said that bob was in their custody and he would be released shortly, and that did not happen. bill: so any of these reports that suggest he might be in pakistan or possibly afghanistan, you dismiss those,

right? >> i do. but at the same time i believe that the iranians are in charge, and if they had moved him there, that's a possibility. bill: well our thoughts are with you. it's a tough, tough time. my best to you, and your daughter who goes to the alter in one month's time and perhaps we'll get him home soon. bob levinson, missing in the country of iran. thank you we'll be in touch with you okay and follow the story. nine minutes past the hour now. you can wonder you get an email one day and you open it up and there are images of your husband that you have not seen, now five years, at the time it was three years an looks like that. martha: after having been promised years ago that he was about to be released. that excitement to be dashed for all these years. i hope they get some answers and soon. all right, we want to give you an update on this situation. 30 to 50 people injured. they must have been very excited that their ferry was running again this morning after hurricane sandy. they hopped on the ferry to go to work, the ferry slammed into

the dock in a hard landing, one critically injured according to these reports and as many as 50 people injured. you can see the on going rescue efforts in new york city. bill: there are questions surrounding the president's nomination of chuck hagel to be defense secretary. new allegations the nomination was part of a larger attempt to change the future of the u.s. military. what about that question? steve hayes with an answer, next. >> it was clear there was strong bipartisan opposition to chuck hagel and president obama decide he didn't care, he was going to force it through and pick this fight because i think politically he thinks he can pick any fight he wants. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it. your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda.

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bill: back to the breaking news news of the hour, the number of is at least 50 now, 50 people injured in this docking accident in lower manhatten. at least one said to be in critical condition now. we've watched stretchers and gurneys of various types and sizes move off of that boat for

the past hour i would say based on the aerial images from wniw from fox here in new york. multiple fire officials have responded down here. we do not know whether anyone was tossed into the water, stayed in the boat or perhaps were tossed on land. you see the side of that boat as it same in for this hard landing in the bottom right hand corner of your screen, that took a healthy chunk out of that commuter boat. that is a boat, by the way, which takes come phaoeurt commuters from new jersey into lower manhatten on a daily basis. this boat had not been in operation for two and a half months based on the reports we had, that was prior to super storm sandy that put it out of service. rick leventhal is on the scene. >> reporter: it's a pretty remarkable scene here, bill. the area is flooded with ambulances, firetrucks and emergency personnel, firefighters and police all over peer 11. they are now talking off with empty stretchers.

i watched several wounded and injured people being carted off and carried off the pier, just moments ago the last of them apparently now have left this pier, people who were hurt during the crash, and i can look from ground level i can see the chunk missing from the front of the ferry, and as you know, bill, we are hearing some pretty remarkable stories of people who were thrown forward when this ferry apparently hit the dock as it was approaching wall street this morning. bill: to that point one passenger is quoted as saying that people topped on top of one another, they were hysterical, they were crying. that ferry is described as, you know, ripped open like a tin can. i guess based on what you're seeing you can confirm that. >> reporter: that's a pretty dramatic description of that one spot where it was hit. it does look like a can was ripped open but just in perspective it's a small part of the front of the pwo*efplt it's not likboat.

it's not like the entire ship was wrecked. bill: is that a 50-foot vets he wilvessel or more than that. >> reporter: i would say it's larger than 50. it's a double decker. there is a lot of emergency response on the ground here. bill: one more question, are you seeing the injured being treated there, or have they been taken away and transported? >> reporter: they were, they started with the most serious and worked their way down to the least serious injuries. they have all been removed on stretchers, been carried off of the dock and taken to area hospitals. bill: rick leaf convenient tall live on the scene in lower manhatten. 16 past the hour. martha: there are now questions about surrounding chuck hagel's nomination to be the country's next secretary of defense. a new york times op ed says that president obama's pick is part after move to decimate the military according to dave brooks. chuck hagel has been nominated to supervise the beginning of

this generation-long process of defense cutbacks. if a democratic president is going to slash defense he probably wants a republican at pentagon to give him political cover, and he probably wants a decorated war hero to boot, very strong words from david brooks. let's bring in steve hayes writer at "weekly standard" and a fox news contributor. good morning, steve. >> good morning, martha. martha: the strongest in that is that he would supervise the military's decline. do you think so. >> i think there is evidence to support the remarks david brooks is saying. bill burton a former deputy white house secretary and a close adviser to the president, very in close with the obama inner circle say as much in an interest view. he said we want chuck hagel there to allow us to bring through what he called huge cuts to the military. so you've got somebody close to the president who is saying that

chuck hagel will make it easier for the obama administration to bring in this new era of military cuts. martha: the president's critics say that he has been really unconcerned and really has not spoken out much about the military cuts that would be part of the sequester. is that true? >> this is one of the things that i find most interesting about the past 18 months in washington. you've had uniformed military leaders and the secretary of defense and others screaming at the top of their lungs that the kinds of cuts that we would see in the sequester would be, quote, catastrophic to site one of them. you've had a president who seems almost indifferent rent to that advice that he's getting from his top advisers. so it would seem to me that the president was eager to have by force of these automatic cuts through the sequester the congress do its work for him, make the cuts that i think he would like to have seen all along, and give him some distance from that process. martha: very interesting. you know, one of the first things i thought about when

reading david brooke' piece was how much power the defense secretary actually has. we all know how these things work, when you start to cut defense you've got states like virginia, and indiana and places where the representatives who would need to vote to carry out those cuts are going to raise holy hell about cutting those programs in their states. >> absolutely. i think this is going to be one of the most interesting aspects of the hagel confirmation process. you look at democrats in the senate who hail from red or purple states who will not be eager to be supportive of those kinds of cuts. now that you've had in effect close obama advisers signaling that what chuck hagel is going to do is make it easier for the president to make those kind of cuts i think it puts additional pressure on the red state purple state senators who will be wanting to ask chuck hagel directly in the confirmation hearings, is this in fact what you're going to do? i think it will be hard nor the senators to support chuck hagel

if he voices a tkpraoeplt from whafrom what we're hearing about obama advisers. martha: leon panetta has been quoted that he prefers to see 9,000 troops left on the ground in afghanistan to do counter intelligence and continue thraeupbg so we don't lose the gains made in afghanistan. won't chuck hagel be asked, are you in favor ever this zero troop option that is on the table? >> there is no question he'll be asked about it directly, this is one of the things that concerns you know, hawks in washington and elsewhere, is over the past several years it's been seen as leon panetta, and before him bob gates, you know, if not being hawkish at least in the intraadministration debates taking a position that was to the right of the president. i think with chuck hagel there is a very real propect that he will be basically in agreement with the president or maybe coming to these arguments from a

more dovish prospective. i think that concerns republicans in the senate but also maybe some moderate centrist democrats in the senate. martha: very interesting. thank you so much. bill: if the government bailed you out why would you taourp you turn around and sue it? martha: we will have more on that. also joe biden sitting down with the video-game makers in a push to stop gun violence. at what point do parents need to take responsibility for what their kids are doing at home? alright let's break it down. mom, pop it. ♪ two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪ ♪

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martha: here is and kwrad that i love. this is a blast from the past. a north carolina man looking to bring back the milk man. doesn't that just co conjure up lovely images of the milk man. he plans to deliver dairy products to those willing to pay for the service. he says it's an interaction from a by gone era that puts a smile on your face. sign me up. bill: the hemmer family, it was twice a week. gallon, after gallon, after gallon. martha: martha bring in the milk i loved that. bill: i'm still a fan of vitamin d, i know it's not cool. i like vitamin d. milk. martha: he likes his milk and cookies. bill: there is a highly coverage teenage just winter disease fact hing people here at home known as sidney 2012 spreading into

britain, france, japan and the u.s. causing terrible symptoms. this is nasty, folks. dr. marc siegl member of the fox news pell team. professor at langone medical center. sidney 2012, good morning to you. what is it and why is it so dangerous. >> it started in australia, it's called winter srop called winter vomiting virus. it's become found all over utah and spreading all over the country. people are worrying about the flu right now, this isn't as satisfactory rear in terms of getting you hospitalized or risk of dying, but i'm worried about this virus because it can get you very dehydrated. you vomit, diarrhea, nausea, those -- abdominal pain, headache, low-grade fever. you have to watch out for this. you can lose a lot of fluids. bill: highly contagious, the

vomiting, the nausea, the stomach pain, the body aches, is there a vaccine, a flu shot that can take care of this. >> no vaccine. you made a great point here, it is highly contagious, it's more contagious than the tphrao*eu. another thing it has in common with the flu is it changes rapidly it mutates. this year's strain is not the same as last year's strain. when you have a new strain you get twice as many cases. this is a very problematic thing. it's going to spread all over the country. i want the people out there to distinguish the symptoms. if you're feeling the vomiting, nausea, the diarrhea this is the n o noro virus. bill: you say it starts in utah. >> it's having huge out breaks in nursing homes and churches in utah. my guess is that somebody flew over from england or wales to utah bringing it there. plane flights spreads this incredibly rapidly. bill: if that is the case you have to wash your hands, man,

that is your defense number one is it not? >> right, the flu is the respiratory virus. this one you get by touching sur tpaes, eac surfaces, touching food, you need to stay away from people when you're actually sick with this. bill: keep the fingertips out of your eyes. you see people doing that, that is a quick way into skwrebgt the stuff ito inject the stuff in your body, you don't want it. manning you, mark. martha: we are getting word on the condition of some of the victims in that ferry crash that we have been covering this morning in new york city. rick leventhal is on the scene with breaking details. we'll go back to him off the break. bill: was a lotto winner poisoned? his wife is talking, investigators are looking for answers from his dead body. >> you don't trust your own people how going to trust? it's scary, sad, but it happened. jenna shared her recipe with sharon,

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martha: we are getting more information on this breaking news news story this morning. it is getting worse. 50 people were injured in this docking accident. two of them are critical according to the reports. 300 people were on board. we are watching the continuing images and starting to hear some of the voices and reaction down there. rick leventhal is on the phone with us. good morning again, rick. >> good morning, martha i just heard from the nypd the latest number is 59 passengers injured

in that ferry crash, two serious, one of them critical and i'm told likely to die from head injuries sustained when this individual fell down the stairs when this ferry hit the dock hard this morning and ripped a hole in the front of that boat. another person who is critical may also be in big trouble. these passengers were all given tags when they were initially checked out by paramedics on the dock. the tags range in color from green to yellow to orange to red, one of them was red-tagged and i'm told is likely to die. either at cornell hospital at this hour. a lot of the other paepblgs we other passengers were put on a new york fire department bus, the least injured. i just saw one woman wheeled off. here comes another passenger being wheeled off the dock with bandages on his head. people are still being removed from the pier with injuries.

the ntsb also gathering information on this accident because it's a transportation incident involving injuries here in lower manhatten. martha: it looked like everybody was off before, and now as you're saying they are continuing to bring people off, their head bandaged as you point out. i go back to what peter johnson junior was saying about the ferry, people get up, they feel like it's coming into dock, everybody stardz star standing up. new yorkers are always in a hurry to get to work. they are standing at the top of the stairs like this man was ready to go. you can see why this would happen. >> i heard from one passenger, the service is tip *eubg lee good on thtype itypically good on the ferry. people sitting down were fine. people standing up close to doors and glass were the ones who tumbled forward when the boat hit the dock and some of them hit the glass and some of them broke glass. there were a lot of cuts. there was according to

passengers a lot of blood on the boat. and the most serious injuries were those people standing up and heading towards the doors whether this thing made a hard landing at pier11 and those people tumbled forward. according to some passengers they were totally on top of one another, many hysterical and crying and those injuries are being treated. martha: is there anybody coming off talking about what happened? does anybody have any clue why this happened? >> i heard from the police that they just believe that the boat came in too fast and wasn't able to stop in time. one passenger speculated that the captain of the ship didn't hit reverse in time to slow and top the boat before it could hit that pier, but that is obviously part of the investigation. martha: obviously and will be, rick. thank you very much. more on that later. >> sure. bill: i want to get now to a significant meeting that will take place this week. afghan president hamid karzai meets with president obama at

the white house. what to do about the war in gans. we are learning that the possibility that zero american troops, there i is an option on the table after 2014. kt mcfarland our fox news national security analyst, is with us. that is a comment made this week. is that a possibility. >> the administration is trying to signal karzai before the meeting and they are saying, wake up, you've got to get your act together because we are leaving and we might leave nobody behind, so you come together -- bill: is it a real possibility. >> yeah i think so. bill: you do? it's not just a negotiating ploy. >> this administration wants out of afghanistan. this is the war of necessity, but it hasn't gone very well. if you've got an incoming secretary of defense who is on the record as saying the war in afghanistan was a mistake, badly handle. you've got huge pressures for budget cuts and defense cuts that the administration is going to go along with and probably more to come, yeah, i think afghanistan is the place where they want to get out of, they

want to get out of quickly. they want to get out of without looking bad but they want out. bill: this could be a 12-month move, 12 to 18 months from now the decision could be made. what about the sacrifice? what about the blood and treasure that's been spilled in that country? what do we leave behind if you consider the possibility, if al-qaida set up shop once they could do it again? >> they will definitely set up shop again. i look at afghanistan like a flee-legged stool. you need all three legs. you needed military victory on the battlefield. our military give us those victories. there was the diplomatic leg. our civilian leadership needed to go to the pakistanis and say shut that border, clean out those safe havens from the taliban go, refuel and come back to fight again, and the third stool, the third leg of that stool is the karzai government. he's a corrupt and incompetent leader, has failed to motivate his people and hold his country today. bill: with regard to karzai does

he want us to leave or does he think his country can survive without us there? >> the yes is does karzai think he can survive without us there. karzai, i think has an exit strategy planned. how long is he going to survive if this is country is torn apart in a multi-part tee civil war? will his military remain faithful to him in the light of pashtoon taliban coming in. his military is phaeupd of different tribes. will they stay loyal and be effective? i think the problem everybody for sees and you can see it coming, that when we leave afghanistan a lot of things will happen. our military leaves. our ability to protect the civilian population that we are leaving behind, including our own civilian ngo aid workers, and then the final thing is will they be able to hold that country together? i think that is a huge question. bill: leon panetta who is exiting the administration said 9,000 troops should be left behind, and we'll see whether or

not that is the case. your point is well-taken. put pressure on karzai to get his police and army together. but if you can't do it in time you're leaving a mess behind. >> you are leaving a huge mess. remember we have thousands of civilian workers there, hop workers, school teachers, who is going to protect them if we leave. bill: thank you kt. big meeting at the end of this week at the white house. martha what is next. martha: this is getting a lot of attention this morning, a bailed out bank, a big one, is now considering suing the u.s. government for bailing it out in the first place. the choice words that lawmakers have today for aig ahead, plus this -- bill: are video games to blame for teaching kids that violence is okay or should criticism be directed somewhere else inside the home? we'll debate that. copd makes it hard to breathe,

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bill: more than 50 injuries. some of the witnesses are talk right now. one person saying that we went full speed into the pier. this from an eyewitness moments ago in lower manhatten. have a listen. >> i was sitting down upstairs towards the back. >> can you describe what happened? >> as i said i was half asleep and all of a sudden there was this loud bang and my face catapulted liken to the seat in front of me and my knee hit the seat, because it's scraped up a little bit. there were a lot of people standing up putting on their coats standing on the staircase. bill: imagine it's 8:45 in the morning. you're on a 140-not commuter boat preparing to dock in lower manhatten and start your day at work. many of these commuters we believe originated in new jersey were coming to new york city for a day of work. now there is an ntsb go team

that will be arriving in new york city very soon to investigate this. we'll watch it throughout the morning. as developments and headlines become available back on that breaking news here on "america's newsroom." martha: you've seen a lot of that, right? vice president joe biden meeting with the makers of video games companies like the one you just saw in a push for answers on gun violence in this country because we are trying to figure out all of the come poepb interests that might lead to what we saw in newtown and many other places. adam lanza reportedly spent his case playing call of duty in the basement of his mother's house. there are new questions as to whether responsibility to police-violent video games really lies with the parents.

michael graham joins me now, he is a "boston herald" columnist, mike good morning. he writes and talks about these issues. good to have you with us. >> glad to be here. i pray right now my 20-year-old son is not in a basement playing video games all day he better be at work. skwhrao don't we all. is this a component and how should we deal witness if it is? >> a couple of things, the court system has already spoken about the ability to regulate video games. there was a 2011 there was a an on thisee and scalia decision decision that the court gave, this is protected speech like movies. no one will go out and ban expend always be nine, but god i wish they would. you can't do it with video games either. the bigger picture is sometimes you have a horrific story like the story out of newton which is beyond our capability to understand, "little children" slaughtered. you want to say oh my gosh the world is going to hell in a hand bass death.

liberal fact check.org reported this this week, that gun violent death, murders are down to the lowest point since at least 1981. gun violence overall has been trending down for the past 20 years. what happened during that same 20 years? there was a rise in the use of video games. nobody thinks that chicago has 506 murders this past year because of the number of game stops on the corners. martha: i understand. and i agree with you. whenever we hear -- when you start to get into the minds of these twisted individuals, it tends to be a common trait that you find out that, yes, indeed, they have been playing these kind of games, halo, and call of duty and all of these in their basements and i wonder if when you have somebody who is in this situation that you're concerned about, you know, perhaps you need to make sure that they are not doing this. but how do you legislate that? is it the parents' responsibility? >> well, how do you legislate it? for example i have a 13-year-old, who watches his older brother and he wants to play assassins creed 3 the new

revolutionary war one, m rated. i say no you can't do it can't do m-rated games. one of his buddy has a dad who gives whatever the buddy wants than an has a stack for m rated games for them to play. the dad has really given the chat to everybody else. martha: you hear from the kids, they are allowed to play it at their house. it takes me back to should kids play with guns and watch violent movies. i feel like you're not going to turn a normal child into somebody who is a monster, who can create what happened in newtown by allowing them to watch a video, or to play with a gun. we all know it goes to the bigger pick, the whole family, what your values are, what you talk b. i also think you can't provide a layer is what i call it, an upstairs little place where there is a computer, or the basement where they are allowed to go. keep this stuff out in the open, out of the bedrooms.

if you're going to play something like that you have to play it in the kitchen where everybody is around. they tend to then not do it so much. >> all the things you said which make common-sense are legislate anal. you can't have no video games in the lair law. video game orpgs bigger than movie option. halo 4 will be big earn any movie opening. clearly most team play them without a problem. my question is why is it so hard if you've got somebody with a mental illness problem to get them institutionalized to get them the help they need. why do we have the system that goes back to the 1960 -ts, retrograde, everything should be out and institution in a liization is evil. there are people begging for help, they say they have a son, brother who needs to be insurance ta taougs in a hraoeuzed and no one will help them. martha: we should point out from what we learn mrs. lanza was attempting that. and there are other mothers who are attempting that. and they have nowhere to go,

nowhere to turn when they know they've got a violent child living in their midst if he hasn't committed a crime. michael thank you. always great to get your incite. bill: jon scott continues in matter of moments now. "happening now" rolls your way. how you doing, jon? jon: i'm doing well, bill. we will have more on the breaking news. the terrible ferry accident in downtown new york city, how many injured we'll find out, plus, we told you yesterday about the severe flu season that is on us today comes word of a new and even deadly strain of noro virus all the way from sidney. it is already making inch roads in one western state. plus disturbing new details on the jodi arias murder trial in arizona. horrific testimony from the forensic experts and the soak of agriculture is with us today. breaking news on a major drought in wide swaths of the nation, and it's getting worse. bill: we'll see you at the too much the hour.

was a lotto winner murdered? his wife is being questioned and police are digging up his remains. we'll tell you why. >> if the perpetrator got a hold of cyanide, is there more? and if that supplier got the cyanide to that particular person is there a way of shutting that down? as a mom, you spend a lot of time helping others. hamburger helper can help you back. and with box tops for education on every box, it helps you help your school. so you're doing good, just by making dinner. hamburger helper. available at walmart. [ bop ] [ bop ] [ bop ] you can do that all you want, i don't like v8 juice. [ male announcer ] how about v8 v-fusion. a full serving of vegetables, a full serving of fruit. but what you taste is the fruit. so even you... could've had a v8.

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martha: here is an interesting but not unsurprising development in this ferry crash this morning. we are hearing from the kao*es guard that they will be ad administering drug and alcohol testing to the captain and the crew of that ferry as soon as the injury count concludes and that is estimated to be within the hour. they would want to do that quickly to ascertain whether or not that played any role in the mishap that has led to some very

serious injuries of 50-plus people on that ferry dock this morning. we'll continue to keep you up to speed on that. bill. bill: martha, thanks. thr-tsee there's a mystery deepening in the suspected murder of a lottery murder. chicago police questioning the widow of the man who died of cyanide poisoning weeks after winning a million dollar jock path. medica jackpot jackpot. >> our toxicology lab is capable are detecting a wide variety of toxins, including cyanide. when it showed up in the blood that was a surprise. >> a former homicide detective, bo diddles, good morning to you. you have a miss three here. >> have you to look for a motive. whenever there ace murder you have to look at motive means

opportunity. the motive could be money. also the first suspect that comes up is the one that will benefit from it. one of the family members other than the wife was the one that reported this. bill: it was not the wife? we know that. >> from what i read, i believe it was not the wife. so now you have other people. you check -- a lot of people use the social network, use computers, the computers are checked, you then use the phone records, you start to interest due people. were there problems going on? did he have a girlfriend on the side, side order, they call that. was he on the bad side of town, the cheating side of town? then you develop the motive, you see who would benefit out of it. bill: he was a businessman. he apparently owned and on thed three different dry cleaners in the chicago area. they buried him months ago and then exhumed his body. >> well the thing was that they took -- they take specimens, they don't do a fall autopsy they take some fluids from the body, i believe urine and blood

and all that. when they came back with the toxicology it came back really high on the cyanide level. now they exhume the pworbgsd they'll be able to see what the bones, whatever remains are left the amount of cyanide throughout his body and see the poisoning that it was the effect. bill: then you have to go and figure out who administered it. >> you look for motive, means and opportunity and that's the part of every murder investigation. bill: check the phone the computer and the life insurance policy bo dietyl thank you. martha: we learned what side order is. a major showdown in washington as we move towards $17 trillion in debt. both sides pitching in on what is going to work. we'll be back. ♪

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